


Clouded

by HeavyHeartstrings



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Drama & Romance, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 14:50:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20490656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeavyHeartstrings/pseuds/HeavyHeartstrings
Summary: Sylvain is still not sure when it happened exactly. Looking back over the many years he’s known Felix, it’s always seemed so clear. Then one day (What day, you ask? Well, Sylvain couldn’t pin point it but it was probably a day Felix was in the training grounds. Not very helpful, he knows), everything became indistinguishable, like swarms of dirt were clouding it all. Up became down, left became right and Sylvain just didn’t quite know how to deal with it. He still doesn’t, truthfully.All he knows is that it scares the living hell out of him.





	Clouded

**Author's Note:**

> My heart belongs to these two ♥

Sylvain is still not sure when it happened exactly. Looking back over the many years he’s known Felix, it’s always seemed so clear. Then one day (What day, you ask? Well, Sylvain couldn’t pin point it but it was probably a day Felix was in the training grounds. Not very helpful, he knows), everything became indistinguishable, like swarms of dirt were clouding it all. Up became down, left became right and Sylvain just didn’t quite know how to deal with it. He still doesn’t, truthfully.

All he knows is that it scares the living hell out of him.

* * *

And at first, it really didn’t. Probably because he didn’t pay it much mind. To fill in the gaps that Sylvain had in his memory, it was in fact a day that the younger student was training. Nothing out of the ordinary, including Sylvain proclaiming he could not train because he’d get sweaty and gross and the red-haired teen had a date with a pretty girl later that evening. Felix gave him that look, the unimpressed one where the side of his mouth turned downward and his eyes became colder than normal, but resigned himself to training with other students.

From then on, everything seemed to be fine. Felix was taking down every opponent rather easily and Sylvian could tell from his spot against a pillar in the shade that the younger student was clearly bored with every opponent he fought. While no one proved a serious challenge, the dark-haired teen was beginning to work up a sweat in his uniform as the day was rather hot compared to usual.

Sylvian didn’t pay it any mind at first. Only when Felix paused after striking down another student and went to the sidelines to grab a drink did he pay much attention. The older student shifted his weight as he focused on his friend’s uniform stuck to his skin in certain places from the sweat, the material clinging to his arms and chest. The small pieces of navy hair hanging from his bun were stuck to the sides of his face and as he tilted his head back to drink the water from a flask, the sight of Felix’s pale skin around his face and neck glistening with sweat made something desirable in Sylvain’s brain start flickering.

Then without realizing, Sylvain stared. Quite shamelessly really if anyone were to observe. Felix noticed too after a moment’s rest, putting the cap back on his flask and tossing it to the side. The dark-haired teen pushed his damp bangs stuck to his forehead away and took a couple breaths, regaining his composure. His passive expression quickly changed to one of annoyance once he caught Sylvain looking.

“What’re you staring at?” Felix bit out skeptically.

Caught in the act, Sylvain suddenly felt strangely vulnerable. Like he’d done something wrong and it was _bad_ that someone saw. Or was it bad because it was Felix who saw? He wasn’t really sure at the time, quickly feeling confused at how he reacted and became rather flustered.

“You,” He blurted out obviously. And then immediately regretted it, but tried his best not to let it show as Felix stared at him with an even more questioning gaze. It must not have worked well, judging by the way his friend looked in that moment.

But before Felix could ask further, the doors to the training grounds opened and Byleth entered.

“Oh, Professor!” Sylvain proclaimed as the teacher approached. “Just in time, Felix was looking for someone to spar with!” He said, walking towards her. She looked from Sylvain to Felix and then began speaking with the navy-haired student, giving Sylvain the perfect opportunity to slip out without another word to his friend.

By the time he went out into town with his date and stayed out with her long past curfew, Sylvain had completely forgotten about the events that took place earlier in the day. He also forgot about the feeling inside of him when he was staring at Felix, dismissing it as a fluke or perhaps the heat making him think weird.

The latter was not to be forgotten for long, however.

* * *

Things became confusing again a couple weeks later in a different way. It began with Felix getting injured in battle. Sylvain was shaken up afterwards to say the least. He was nearby when it happened, finishing off a thief when he heard a cry of pain come from his friend. Sylvain jerked around quickly as soon as the sound hit his ears like an alerted fox, quickly locating Felix close by. The navy-haired student finished cutting down a different thief with a pained sound, pausing with his blade low at the ground by his side and wincing with deep breaths.

Then Sylvain’s eyes trailed downward like Felix’s, staring at the shaft of the arrow sticking out from the side of his leg, right above the top of his boot. Beneath the black pants, Sylvain didn’t make out the blood, but it was already starting to trail down his boots and stain them. After taking everything in within a matter of seconds, the older student found himself welling up with a sudden burst of anger, gripping his spear tightly and turning around to locate the archer among the other soldiers fighting close by.

Without thinking, Sylvain charged at the rogue with a sprint and didn’t even pay mind to the fact that he was already drawing another arrow back and aiming it straight for Sylvain. When the drawstring was released, it felt like there was a momentary pause in time and the redhead swore that he could feel the arrow whizzing by his face. He heard Felix calling his name in worry from behind, but it didn’t do much to stop the older student’s pursuit.

Before he could draw a third arrow, Sylvain decided that moment would be the best chance he could possibly get and he drew his arm back to aim the weapon. He came to a quick halt, using his momentum to launch the spear towards the archer in a quick movement. Shortly after the weapon left his grasp, he heard the sound of it piercing armour and a pained cry following as the archer went down.

He didn’t stay to revel in the kill or retrieve his weapon, immediately turning around to return to Felix. Thankfully they had nearly secured this area already so the navy-haired student was able to make somewhat of a retreat it seemed. Sylvain quickly saw a trail of blood on the ground leading towards a small forest and began to follow it with his jaw still tense and a weighing knot of anxiety in his chest.

To his relief, it wasn’t fair into the trees before Sylvain found Felix leaning against a tree with his eyes shut tight as he breathed deeply.

“Felix!” Sylvain had called to him eagerly.

The younger student opened his eyes sharply at the sound of someone approaching, quickly relaxing when he realized it was Sylvain. He closed his eyes again and leaned against the tree.

“Can’t believe I let that archer get me.” Felix grumbled out in a pained and annoyed manner.

Sylvain didn’t acknowledge it though, still feeling nervous once he was close enough to see the details of the wound. The arrow was still lodged in Felix’s leg, which was probably the best option at the moment considering there doesn’t seem to be anyone, let alone a healer around. He tried not to let the concern on his face show the more his stared at the arrow.

“Come on, we need to get you back to Mercedes.” Sylvain said seriously, offering a hand to Felix. The navy-haired teen eyed him apprehensively before accepting it and allowing the older student to wrap an arm around him in support. But steps after he left the resting spot against the tree, Felix’s wounded leg gave out and he began to collapse, nearly taking Sylvain down with him.

“Woah, easy there!” The red-haired teen said, quickly regaining his balance and pulling Felix back up again.

His friend closed his eyes and shook his head back and forth frustratedly. “I can’t put any weight on it.” He bit out in a sharp pained sound.

Sylvain nodded, turning back to face the tree and letting Felix rest against it for a moment while he paused for a moment, staring at the younger student and crossing his arms. “Alright, I’ll have to carry you then.” He stated simply.

Felix jerked his head up to meet Sylvain’s gaze, his eyebrows narrowed in his instinctive skeptical nature towards his friend. “What?” He questioned in disbelief.

Sylvain cocked his head to the side a bit, his own expression a little confused. “Well yea,” he stated. “How else are we going to get you back to a healer?” The redhead said, gesturing a hand towards Felix’s wound.

“Look, it’s not happening. I’ll wait for someone to come by.” The younger student protested.

“Come on. That’s ridiculous, look at the blood you’ve lost!” Sylvain reported a little shortly. “What’s the big deal?”

“I’m not being carried like a child!” Felix bit back stubbornly. He reminded Sylvain of younger times in that moment. Protesting for the sake of protesting, with no real reason for it.

Sylvain didn’t take his words to heart though, knowing that most of his anger was from the pain in his leg. And something about the way his friend answered didn’t seem like a truthful response to the redhead. He wasn’t exactly sure why, but knowing Felix as long as he did gave Sylvain an ability to read the navy-haired student rather well.

“Well, then I won’t carry you like a child.” Sylvain explained easily.

After he received another skeptical, yet curious expression from Felix, Sylvain stepped forward and scooped the navy-haired teen up with an arm under his knees and the other supporting his back, making sure not to touch his wounded area.

Felix immediately began to protest, wiggling himself in Sylvain’s grasp. “Sylvain!” He cried out loudly. “Put me down before I snap your neck!” The younger student demanded.

“What? You’re the one who wanted this,” Sylvain teased as he began walking towards the treeline again to locate the other soldiers. He could tell by the way that Felix spoke towards him that his friend was at least distracted from the pain for the time being. “Although, I’m a little surprised that you prefer to be carried like a maiden on her wedding day.”

“I didn’t want this!” Felix yelled again in denial. And then to Sylvain’s surprise, he noticed that the younger student’s face became flushed in embarrassment. “Once I’m healed, you’re going to regret saying that.” He bit out lowly, calming down and begrudgingly accepting the situation.

Really, it was a challenge to try and take him seriously, especially with how bashful Felix appeared in that moment. Staring down at him as he walked, Sylvain felt a combination of different things inside of him. It would have been too hard to try and sort through them and all try and figure out what they all meant, but the older student knew that one feeling in particular stood out to him as he observed Felix and instinctively started smiling.

It was a relief encased in warmth.

* * *

That night, Sylvain started to get a little panicked. After the battle was finished and deemed a victory, the students returned to the monastery in their worn-out conditions. Felix had the arrow removed and the wound patched up for the time being, being told by Mercedes that he would be on bed rest for the next few days until it healed more. Of course, the navy-haired student was not impressed to hear this, aggravated that he would become behind on his usual training.

Sylvain stepped out of the infirmary after Felix was brought there for an official examination from Manuela, releasing a deep sigh as he closed the door behind him. He crossed his arms and leaned his back against the stone walls, tilting his head back and sighing once more as he stared at the ceiling. His heart was still racing even after everything had calmed down.

What was going on with himself? Sure, it was natural to be panicked when seeing a close friend hurt, but Felix was relatively fine for the most part. It wasn’t like he was going to die or anything and he was very clearly not wounded enough to hold back from his sharp insults towards the older student.

It had been hours since the incident. So, why was Sylvain’s heart still beating like a steady drum, thumping loudly in his chest and making him feel uncontrollably nervous?

“I need to go relax,” he said to himself quietly, uncrossing his arms and beginning to walk back to his room. After a bath and some food, Sylvain found himself antsy once again and then decided to venture into town for the evening.

He met a pretty girl and she was actually the one who came up to him. It was a change of pace for once and Sylvain ate it up like Lysithia when she tries to hide and devour cake in private (Felix disdainfully brought a slice to him one day, saying that the mage kept trying to get him to convert to the sweets. Sylvain shrugged and said the navy-haired student should be happy such a pretty girl was giving him gifts. Felix glared and walked away without another word, taking the cake with him).

They spent nearly the whole night together, kissing and touching one another whenever they got the opportunity to. She was a beautiful girl, but Sylvain didn’t even remember her name, or really care to for that matter. All he cared about was that he was able to forget about that stupid panicked feeling towards Felix as he pulled her flush against him and she grinned into their kiss, pulling away to tell him that they should move to her place.

When he returned to the monastery in the early hours of the morning, just being able to see the early glow of sunrise beginning in the horizon, the illusion wore off. As he walked by Felix’s closed door towards his own room to try and get at least a couple hours of sleep, he forced himself not to look at it and pretended not to wonder how the navy-haired student was doing.

But it was a pitiful effort and Sylvain bit his lower lip the more he thought about it.

* * *

He started to avoid Felix.

It’s not like Sylvain even wanted to. But really, what choice did he have? The red-haired teen was acting weird around Felix nearly every time he saw him and the younger student kept on bluntly asking him what his problem was lately. Sylvain really wished he could have given an explanation that wasn’t some poorly made up excuse, but it’s not like he knew how to process what was going on inside of him. His only option to not make things weirder was to put distance between them for a bit until things cooled down.

All he knew at this point was that whenever he was able to be free from Felix’s presence, he was less on edge. So, he started spending even more time than normal out in town with various women. His sleeping schedule started to become irregular and choppy, resulting in him falling asleep multiple times during class and earning several lectures from Byleth and one from Seteth. When he wasn’t in class, Sylvain was in places he knew Felix would never be, like the greenhouse or the cathedral. Not that he really even expected the navy-haired student to come looking for him or anything, but Sylvain needed to be sure.

And for some time, Sylvain was able to maintain a decent routine of going to class, sitting in the back while Felix sat closer to the front, making sure that he was able to slip out before the younger student could try and talk to him after class ended. He would beeline for the closest exit and weave in and out of other students to keep himself somewhat hidden. From then, his days were mainly spent out of the monastery drinking and meeting several different women who were quickly forgotten about.

It wasn’t great, but it worked. Only after a week of not talking to Felix, he found himself starting to get a little depressed though. It sucked a lot and Sylvain quickly realized how much time he normally spent around the navy-haired student now that he was purposefully avoiding him. The redhead wished that things could go back to the way they were before when Felix was just Felix and not someone who plagued Sylvain’s mind on the nights he lay awake and stared at the ceiling of his bedroom, trying to figure out what caused him to start feeling so strange.

After twelve days of operation avoid-Felix, Sylvain was finally caught. It was shortly after he left his room in the morning before class. He’d been waiting until the last minute to make sure Felix went ahead without him. The younger student would never sleep in or show up late as Sylvain had done in recent passing.

But he apparently did not care for punctuality today, waiting outside of Sylvain’s room with his arms crossed over his chest and staring pointedly at the older student as soon as he exited.

Sylvain’s eyed widened in surprise, swallowing quickly and glancing to the side. “Felix! You waited just for me? That’s sweet of you,” he jested lightly, trying to play it off.

“Cut the crap.” The navy-haired student said quietly, but sternly. “What’s been going on with you?”

“Hm? Me?” Sylvain asked, folding his arms behind his head and shifting his weight back and forth. “Oh you know, just working hard and playing hard. The usual. I met a lovely girl last night; you should have seen her.” He said, steering the conversation.

“Hmph. I don’t think you’ve ever worked hard a day in your life.” Felix critiqued bluntly, grabbing the reigns and purposefully ignoring the comment about the woman. 

Sylvain frowned, dropping his arms and playing his reaction up a little. “Aw, so rude. What about that archer I took out for you?” He reminded, glancing down at the navy-haired teen’s covered leg. Felix still had a bit of a limp, but was determined that it would heal within time. If he wasn’t so stubborn and stopped training for sometime, it probably would have fully healed by now.

Felix stared at him for a moment in silence, like he was just trying to get a read on Sylvain or something. It made the older student feel a little more uncomfortable.

“Well, we’d better get to class now before the Professor-“ Sylvain started.

But was cut off by Felix. “I could care less about the Professor or class right now.” He stated. “Tell me why you’ve been avoiding me lately.” The younger student demanded with a pointed glare. There was something wounded in his voice that red-haired teen barely caught.

Then Sylvain started to get a little nervous, feeling a prickling sensation in his stomach at the direct shift in topic. “Me? Avoiding you? Come on, that’s crazy.” He urged, trying to slip his way out of it.

“Sylvain,” Felix said a little louder, obviously not buying it in the slightest. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but it's out of hand. You need to stop sneaking out, drinking and fooling around with women every night.” He declared, clenching a fist at his side tightly.

Then a true frown began tugging its way onto the side of Sylvain’s mouth. “Oh? And these are your strict orders, My Lord?” He taunted.

A scowl came to Felix’s face upon hearing the sarcasm. “You’re insufferable. I didn’t say anything when you started doing this after Miklan’s death, but this time I’m not-“

“Felix,” Sylvain interrupted with a serious edge to his voice, his amber eyes narrowed in a sudden anger. “That’s enough.”

“I know it bugged you, and it still does. Even though you say you hate your brother, I know part of you will always be sad you couldn’t have gotten along like siblings should.” The navy-haired teen continued, stepping forward in a somewhat challenging manner.

“You don’t know _what_ you’re talking about.” Sylvain bit back with hostility in his voice, the walls that he usually reserved for those who saw him as nothing more than a prize to be won stacking up around him like armor plates atop one another.

“I do actually. Maybe your partying and sleeping around has been messing with your memory as well, but I’ve known you since we were kids.” Felix stated.

“Ugh, it’s too early for this. I’m going to class.” Sylvain responded in a defeated manner, beginning to walk down the hallway to end the argument.

“You keep living in that delusional, careless fantasy and pretending you like it,” The navy-haired student chimed from behind him, still standing in place and glaring heatedly at the back of Sylvain’s head.

_He always has to hit hard, whether it’s with words or weapons _the older student thought to himself as he frowned at the ground and ended up skipping the morning class.

He tried to meet several girls that night, but every time he started speaking with someone Sylvain became quickly disinterested and moved on. He quickly became done with the evening and returned to the monastery before midnight, something that he didn’t think had happened before.

He had to resist the urge to knock on Felix’s door as he passed by.

* * *

Ingrid found him holed up in the corner of the library at a table by himself a few days later.

“Wow, I’m surprised to see you here of all places.” She said to him after noticing his presence, walking towards the table and sitting across from him. “Not that you’re actually getting work done.” She added, gesturing towards the redhead.

Blinking heavy eyes that begged for sleep, Sylvain lifted his head from an open book he was attempting to catch a quick nap on. “Hm? Oh, hey Ingrid. Good to see you.” He said sleepily, lowering his head again.

“Seriously?” She asked impatiently, kicking his shin from under the table. The older student jerked and let out a yelp in pain, giving the blonde a grumpy look.

“What’s your problem? Can’t a guy nap around here?” He asked irritably.

A line was starting to work its way between her eyebrows. “I’ve been looking for you. What’s going on with you and Felix? The two of you look awful lately,” She said.

“Gee, that’s not nice to say about someone.” Sylvain responds with a small frown. “How would you like it if I said that to you?”

“You’d end up with a black eye,” Ingrid retorts quickly, resting her chin on her hand with her elbow on the table and staring at Sylvain. She was very clearly waiting for him to continue.

“I’m just tired more than normal,” he said with his eyes cast downward. “And I dunno about Felix. You should just ask him yourself.” He lied.

“I’ve tried that, but you know how he is.” The blonde responded, looking at a nearby shelf.

Sylvain nodded to himself, reeling over their argument days ago and staring at the table top with a thoughtful expression. Oh boy, did he ever know. When he looked up, Ingrid was staring at him with a worried expression on her face.

“Sylvain… you don’t look good. Maybe you should go see Professor Manuela,” she suggested.

“I’m flattered you care so much Ingrid, really.” Sylvain said, forcing a smile even through it felt strained and phony as anything. “But really, I’m okay.”

“Anyone can see that’s a blatant lie,” the blonde insisted, folding her arms over each other on the table. “Come on. You know you can tell me anything. I can’t promise I won’t get angry if it has something to do with your usual scheming though…” She eased, trailing off.

Sylvain sighed deeply, taking a moment to close his eyes. “Heh, no scheming, I can assure you that.” He murmured before falling silent. As he started to reflect on the situation, the older student felt his heartbeat start to quicken nervously.

“Could you uh.. just give me a second? I need to think for a moment,” Sylvain said, pushing his chair out from underneath the table and rising. He took a couple of breaths, doing his best to try and clear his head.

“Of course, take your time.” Ingrid said seriously, obviously a lot more worried now that she saw how Sylvain was reacting all of a sudden.

But when she saw that Sylvain immediately stalked towards the exit in an attempt to escape from her, she let out a frustrated yell and jumped up, slamming her palms down on the table.

“_Syl-vain!”_ Ingrid cried out in anger, chasing after him. After she made it past the doorway though, she didn’t see her friend in sight and then exhaled quietly, shaking her head to herself and murmuring about how stupid and dramatic boys were.

* * *

They’re in battle again. Unfortunately for their battalion, things aren’t looking too good. Every so often when Sylvain gets a free second to catch his breath between avoiding and delivering blows to the enemy, he’ll make sure that Felix is in sight and okay. Even though they’re not exactly on speaking terms, there is an instinctual reaction to make sure that nothing has happened to the younger student. He had become paranoid after the recent injury Felix suffered and wouldn’t let that happen again.

He heard one of the ally soldiers going down nearby and focused his attention towards the sound, seeing a brigand wielding a silver axe which was now freshly coated in the blood of Sylvain's fallen comrade. The large brute turned to Sylvain next, eying the student up like fresh meat and raising his weapon up towards him. He didn’t say a word, didn’t need to; The redhead could tell just by looking at this guy that he’d killed many times and the novelty of death clearly did not exist for him. Not an ounce of humanity in there.

He started towards Sylvain with a yell and the man was very fast for someone so stocky. The red-haired student was just barely able to dodge the swing of the axe that came his way. Sylvain ducked, jumping back up immediately after to put some distance between them and try and counter attack with his lance. The brigand parried his counter as if it were nothing, making Sylvain become a little worried that he wasn’t going to be the favourable one in this battle considering the weapon disadvantage as well.

He didn’t give up though and their fighting continued for sometime. Sylvain didn’t even realize it, but by the time he was finally able to get an opening and stab the man in his abdomen, he had lost sight of Felix.

Seconds later, he heard the sound of his friend yelling.

He looked all around himself in a sudden panic, fearing for the worst but after he located the younger student amongst the chaos of the battle, he saw that it was just a scare and Felix was fine as he took out another enemy. It must have been a close call then. There was a momentary fragment of solidarity between them when Felix looked up towards Sylvain. It was like a mutual agreement that in that moment, their fight was nonexistent. Right now, the two of them were allies and they fought for each other, no matter what. The battlefield was no place for grudges. It was about survival.

It was as if all of these things were said between them with no words needed and Felix even managed to give Sylvain a small smile with a nod of his head. It caught the red-haired student off guard in a good way and the older teen smiled back, feeling like things were okay in that moment.

But then all of a sudden, they were not.

He saw the archer perched on a tree behind Felix. How he missed the guy until now was a mystery to Sylvain and he swore that it looked just like the guy who shot Felix in the leg weeks ago. How was that possible? Sylvain killed him. He saw his spear pierced through the man’s chest after he went down with his own eyes and there was no way he could have survived that.

But somehow, here he was on the battlefield again and he was grinning like a madman even from all that distance away. It flicked an automatic rush of fear and anger into Sylvain, his expression changing into one of panic as he opened his mouth to try and warn Felix to look out.

Then the arrow was released and it flew cleanly through the air, shooting towards the navy-haired student. Felix didn’t even have enough time to turn around before the sick sound of weapon piercing armor and skin reached Sylvain’s ears.

It was an awful sound, followed by silence and making the older teen nearly clench his eyes shut. He didn’t look away though, paralyzed with a sickening horror coming over him as he saw the arrow head sticking out of Felix’s chest and his blood already staining his clothes. It's like the blood was blossoming from his chest in thick red stains.

Then the younger student went down and Sylvain broke out into a run towards him amongst the choas. The only thing his mind could do was chant _no_. _No_, this was not happening. _No_, he did not just watch Felix get shot. _No_, his friend was not about to die.

“No…no.” Sylvain said weakly, falling to the ground and slipping an arm under the younger student’s neck to try and support him when he reached Felix. The navy-haired teen was lethargic, seemingly not aware of what was going on around him as he tried to focus on Sylvain. Before he knew it, the older student’s eyesight became clouded and hot tears were falling down onto Felix’s face.

“Felix…no, please,” Sylvain begged, like his words could somehow reverse the hands of time. “You can’t- I won’t-“ He tried, unable to make any sense. Then before he could even attempt to speak again, Felix's eyelids were beginning to fall heavy, staring at Sylvain with a raw fear in his eyes. He’s scared, and _goddess Sothis, if you're out there please-_

Sylvain shot awake; his skin hot. Too hot for comfort, making his loose clothes stick to him in weird places and he sat up with shallow breaths, coming back into reality from such a dramatic shift in his perception. His mind was still reeling on the fresh dream though and Sylvain’s tired brain went with the impulse to get up and walk out of his room, past Dimitiri’s and stop in front of Felix’s after knocking on it repeatedly.

He knew that it wouldn’t be a pleasant greeting from the other side, but Sylvain needed to see him now. He had to make sure that Felix was still alive. It was crazy, he knows, but lately that's all he's felt. To no surprise, the navy-haired student immediately scowled when he recognized that it was Sylvain disturbing him so late, getting ready to slam the door in his face.

“Felix!” He hissed quietly, raising his arms up. “Please. Just…listen.”

Then the tired student actually paused and stared at him, keeping his hand still on the door and waiting for Sylvain to continue. Unfortunately for him, the older student didn’t have the slightest of clues as to where to even begin.

So, giving into the tired impulse again, Sylvain just went with the first thing that came to mind and stepped forward, catching Felix’s quick surprised reaction and placing his hands on either side of the younger student’s face before planting a chaste kiss on his lips. In the brief moment their lips pressed against each other, Sylvain immediately enjoyed the thrilling feeling. It felt so new and exciting, but also like it was right. When was the last time things felt truly right?

When he pulled away, Felix was staring at him with a completely shocked expression on his face, his lips parted ever so slightly. Sylvain had never seen him look such a way before and it almost made him laugh.

“Sorry. I had an awful dream,” he explained as if that would translate to the younger student clear as day.

His words seemed to break Felix out of his trance and he pulled away from Sylvain like he was on fire.

“_Wh__at!?_” He managed to bite out, stepping backwards into his room like a frightened prey. His expression was anything of the sort though, caught between a mixture of disbelief, anger and well…if Sylvain was to really guess he would also say a little bit of embarrassment, judging by the way the younger student appeared to be flushing. It was dark though, so Sylvain wasn’t a hundred percent sure.

“I dreamt you got hurt again.” He begun to explain hastily, recalling the details. “And you were dying so quick I didn't get to show you how I really felt. Then I just realized, maybe kissing you is how I could show you I mean it and-“

Felix marched up to him and slammed a hand over his mouth to shut him up as he continued to ramble, gritting his teeth. Up close, Sylvain could confidently say that the navy-haired student was definitely blushing, his eyes wide and full of absolute horror at the situation.

“Answer my questions with a nod or a shake of your head.” He bit out, leaving no room in his tone for neogtiation.

Wordlessly with his mouth still covered, Sylvain nodded his head.

“Is this some kind of sick joke?” The navy-haired teen started.

Quickly, Sylvain shook his head back and forth.

It was hard to tell what Felix was thinking in that moment, but Sylvain hoped that his genuineness was being received as the younger student paused to think of his next question.

“Are you drunk right now?” Felix asked.

Sylvain almost rolled his eyes, instead shaking his head back and forth and deciding that these are probably necessary questions considering his track record as of late.

“Were you…really that worried when I got shot by that archer?” The younger student questioned, his voice a little more curious than anything.

The redhead nodded his head slowly, staring at Felix as he did it. Then, he felt the pressure against his mouth loosen and reached up to grasp Felix’s hand, kissing his fingers gently.

“I know all the pick up lines and the sweet words to say. But when it comes to something… something real, I just… I don’t know how to say it at all.” He tried to explain. These feelings were all so new and making sense of them was going to take some time.

“Hmph.”

“What is it?” The older student asked.

Felix pulled his hand back, looking to the side sheepishly for a moment before turning his attention to Sylvain again. He leaned in quickly, giving the older student a soft kiss in return and making Sylvain’s heart kick start into poundings louder than a stampede of horses.

When they pulled away from each other, the two of them shared a small smile before Felix’s gaze became a little amused.

“You really got that upset over a dream, huh?” He asked.

Sylvain laughed, making light of the situation. He shrugged a little shyly. “Well, it made me think back to our promise as kids, you know?” He said, pausing probably to remember to two of them together at the time. “To imagine myself really there if that were ever to happen…I just hate even thinking about it, but it made me realize I want to be with you, all the time.” Sylvain stated.

The side of Felix’s mouth curled upwards and his face flushed again. “I don’t know if there’s anyone else I could put up with by my side for that long.”

Sylvain giggled a little, feeling his own face warm. It’s not much, but from Felix? Well it meant a whole lot more than you might have thought.

“Also you said something real,” Felix added.

“Yea,” Sylvain said, staring at Felix with an ever-growing smile consuming his expression. He knew he was grinning like an idiot but that was not a thought to be paid any mind to in that moment. “With you, maybe it’s easier than I thought. I don’t have anything to hide.”

“Too bad I do. I mean, who wants to be the womanizer’s secret sin?” The navy-haired student asked with a roll of his eyes.

“Secret sin? I like the way your mind thinks,” Sylvain chirped in, unable to resist when it was right there.

He got the classic Felix look, you know the one by now, and it just made the redhead laugh as he wrapped an arm around the younger student’s middle.

“Felix, come on. I’m serious, I just want you and we don’t have to hide it.” Sylvain said. “You know me well enough to know when I’m telling the truth, right?”

The younger student released a small breath, nodding and relaxing. “Yea, I do.” The navy-haired teen murmured.

“Good. Now let’s sleep please, I could really use a big spoon right after that dream.” Sylvain said, pulling away and walking towards Felix’s bed.

The younger student simply resigned himself to brushing his loose pieces of hair away from his face and rolling his eyes, deciding that he probably wouldn’t have much of a say in the matter even if he did protest against Sylvain’s stupid cuddling preferences.


End file.
